ai4bharat/Pralekha huggingface dataset:
Ministry of Finance
In a joint operation with Indian Coast Guard, DRI recovered and seized 17.74 kg Gold from sea bed of Tamilnadu coast, after it was thrown by smugglers from fishing boat
In a Joint Op, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence , with the help of the Indian Coast Guard, intercepted a fishing boat, after a chase in the sea near the Mandapam coast, with foreign origin Gold weighing 17.74 kg valued at Rs 10.1 crore approximately. The said gold is seized under the provisions of the Customs Act, 1962.
The gold was hidden in a parcel containing 14 packages of foreign origin gold in various forms – varying sizes of bars, chains, and sticks, and tied in a towel. Three persons involved in the said smuggling have been apprehended and being interrogated.
The DRI developed an intelligence that a gang based in Vedhalai/Mandapam, Ramanathapuram, Tamilnadu, were planning to smuggle huge quantities of gold from Sri Lanka through a fishing boat. The intelligence also revealed that three persons in the fishing boat would collect the gold in the high seas and are planning to land in the coast of Mandapam.
Accordingly, a joint operation along with the Indian Coast Guard was planned. A team of Indian Coast Guard officers and officials from DRI mounted surveillance from the Coast guard ship Charlie 432 and the fishing boat was identified in the early hours of 8th February 2023. On spotting the fishing boat, Rigid Inflatable Boats  from the coast guard ship were deployed and the said fishing boat was intercepted after a chase in the sea near the Mandapam coast.
During the course of interception, the persons in the fishing boat threw the contraband parcel into the sea. The parcel containing the contraband was retrieved from the seabed with the help of Coast Guard Divers.
With this seizure, DRI, Chennai Zonal Unit, has so far seized 209 kg of foreign-origin gold in this Financial Year 2022-23. The all India gold seizure by DRI is 950 kg  in this Financial Year.
Ministry of Food Processing Industries
Roundtable of Secretary, FPI, Smt. Anita Praveen with Embassies and High Commissions in India on the activities related to the Mega Food Event 2023
Secretary, FPI, Smt. Anita Praveen chaired a roundtable interaction with Foreign Missions in India on Thursday at Vigyan Bhawan Annexe, New Delhi. This was in continuation to the multiple roundtable interactions held since November 2022, to apprise the Ministry’s plan of action for the Mega Food Event2023 and discuss potential areas of collaboration.The roundtable witnessed participation from representatives of19 Foreign Missions in India which included HE Ambassadors of Serbia, Myanmar, and senior officials from New Zealand, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Cambodia, Malaysia, France, Germany, Italy, Denmark, Australia, Japan, South Africa, Canada, Netherlands, and Mexico.
Secretary, FPI in her keynote address highlighted that Ministry of Food Processing Industries is organizing a Mega Food Event from 3rd to 5th November 2023, which is being envisaged on a much larger scale than the event earlier organized by the Ministry in 2017. She stated that the event wouldcater to all subsegments of food processing and allied sectors. In addition to this, the event will also focus on promoting millets and millet-based value-added products as 2023 has been declared as the ‘International Year of Millets’. Secretary, FPI further added that through the event the Ministry envisages to showcase India as a global food supply hub.
Representatives from all countries were requested to share their input and suggestions on the proposed structure of the event tomake it comprehensiveand inclusive for all relevant stakeholders globally. Participants were also requested to create awareness about the event amongst senior policy makers, agri-food companies, academia etc. in their respective countries andactively participateas a Partnerto make the event a grand success.
All participants ensured their support to the Ministry with the plannedactivities as a precursor to the Mega Food Event as well aswith the final event in November 2023.Some of the suggestions / feedback given by the participants included inviting financial institutions tothe event, specific focus on the research &development segment, food safety & securityetc. All representatives from the Foreign Missions also congratulated the Ministry on its progress for the Mega Food Event. They assured to inform their respective Ministries, business chambers, agri-food and allied industries companiesfor ensuring maximum participation from their respective regions.
Further, the Investment Facilitation Cell  was directed to connect with all the participants to share further information about the mega event as well as explore areas of collaborations.
Competition Commission of India
CCI approves acquisition of 100% equity shares of Medlife by API Holdings and of up to 19.59% equity share capital of API Holdings by Medlife’s shareholders
The Competition Commission of India  approves acquisition of 100% equity shares of Medlife International Private Limited  by API Holdings Private Limited  and of up to 19.59% equity share capital of API Holdings by Medlife’s shareholders under Section 31 of the Competition Act, 2002, today.
The proposed combination relates to the acquisition of 100% of equity shares of Medlife by API and as consideration, the acquisition of up to 19.59% of the equity share capital of API Holdings , by the Medlife Promoter Shareholders and other shareholders of Medlife. [ Mr. Prashant Singh, Mr. Tushar Kumar and the Prasid Uno Family Trust  are collectively referred to as “Medlife Promoter Shareholders”.]
API is a private company, incorporated in 2019. API directly or through its subsidiaries carries out various business activities including wholesale sale and distribution of drugs; transportation and delivery services primarily focused on pharmaceutical sector; owning technology and intellectual property for developing e- commerce platforms; provision of manpower supply, support, business function support for group companies of API Holdings; provision of master data management services support; developing ERP and software solutions primarily for healthcare businesses and other customized application services for retail pharmacies, operating and providing online application which provides a B2B order management system for retailers and distributors of pharmaceutical products, medical devices and OTC drugs; and developing a platform which connects registered medical practitioners and patients whereby the patients could consult with them through the platform by way of tele-consultation as well as physical consultation.
The Trust is a private trust incorporated under the Indian Trusts Act, 1882. The Trust has various investments in the healthcare sector, including the majority shareholding in Medlife. Mr. Prashant Singh and Mr. Tushar Kumar are the co-founders of Medlife.
Medlife, incorporated in 2014 is primarily a healthcare company engaged in the wholesale sale and distribution of drugs. It also engages in the retail sale of such pharmaceutical products, medical devices and OTC drugs, though pharmacies and an online marketplace. Medlife also healthcare services such as medicines and wellness products, digital doctor consultation and online diagnostic tests services.
Detailed order of the CCI will follow.
President's Secretariat
Parliamentary Committees Ensure Administrative Accountability of The Executive Towards The Legislature: President Kovind
President of India Inaugurates Centenary Celebrations of The Public Accounts Committee of The Parliament
The Parliamentary Committees in general and the Public Accounts Committee , in particular ensure administrative accountability of the Executive towards the Legislature, said the President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind. He was speaking on the occasion of inauguration of the centenary celebrations of the Public Accounts Committee of the Parliament in the Central Hall of Parliament House today .
The President said that in a democracy, Parliament is the embodiment of the people’s will. Various Parliamentary Committees work as its extension and enhance its functioning. He noted that it is a welcome division of labour as they allow the Houses to discuss and debate all issues while select groups of the Members of Parliament can devote more focus on select matters. He said that without Parliamentary Committees, a parliamentary democracy would be rendered incomplete. It is through the PAC that citizens keep a check on the government finances.
The President said that in parliamentary democracy, accountability is central to governance. Therefore, it is obvious that a committee of people’s representatives doing scrutiny of public accounts plays an important role. The Public Account Committee has been entrusted with a great responsibility of showing the virtue of prudence. It aids in finding better ways to raise the resources and, more importantly, to spend them efficiently on people’s welfare. He said that since it is the Parliament that grants permission to the Executive to raise and spend funds, it has the duty to assess if funds were raised and spent accordingly or not.
The President said that record of PAC over the decades has been commendable and exemplary. Its functioning has been praised by independent experts too. Many luminaries including one of his predecessors, Shri R. Venkataraman, and three of our former Prime Ministers, Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Shri P.V. Narasimha Rao and Shri Inder Kumar Gujral, served on it. He noted that PAC has examined public expenditure not only from a legal and formal point of view to find out technical irregularities, if any, but also from the point of view of the economy, prudence, wisdom, and propriety. He said that it has no other objective but to bring to notice cases of waste, loss, corruption, extravagance, inefficiency. If more paise out of every rupee coming from honest taxpayers are reaching those in need and also for nation-building initiatives, the PAC and its members have played a large role in the process, he added.
Please click here to see the President’s speech -
Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways
West Bengal to receive investment of ₹1 Trillion in maritime sector; transforming it into a regional trade hub in near future: Shri Sarbananda Sonowal
Shri Sonowal attends Road Show for the ensuing Global Maritime India Summit, 2023 organised by Syama Prasad Mookerji Port, Kolkata
The Union Minister of Ports, Shipping & Waterways  and Ayush, Shri Sarbananda Sonowal attended the road show organised by Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port  for the ensuing Global Maritime India Summit, 2023  in Kolkata, today. The road show was attended by the captains of India Inc in the city as well as top officials, technocrats as well as social leaders with an intent to encourage their participation meaningfully to “Connect, Collaborate and Create" with global investors at the forthcoming summit in New Delhi.
Speaking on the occasion, Shri Sarbananda Sonowal said, “Inspired by the vision of the Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi ji, our Ministry is organising 3rd Global Maritime India Summit, 2023  from 17 October to 19 October, 2023 at Bharat Mandapam with an aim to ‘Connect, Collaborate & Create.’ Today, all of you have joined us on this novel exercise to enable and empower the maritime sector of India as a true multiplier force of India’s economic growth. Kolkata, with its rich maritime heritage and strategic location, plays a pivotal role in maritime sector in enabling & empowering the eastern part of India. Maritime sector is the life line of Indian economy contributing more than 90% of EXIM cargo by volume and about 70% by value.”
Highlighting the role of private sector, the Minister further added, “Private sector is an essential partner in propelling the growth of India’s maritime sector and Public Private Partnership  has immensely contributed in development of new ports and augmentation of capacity in the existing ports. PPP terminals, which are currently handling about 50% cargo at major ports, are striving to raise its share to 100% in coming decades. West Bengal is poised to receive investment worth ₹1 trillion in maritime sector and that will make the state a maritime hub in near future. In view of the above, active and whole hearted participation of trade and industries in the improvement and development of port infrastructure and other ancillary facilities in India is imperative. I take this opportunity to urge all of you for your earnest participation at the forthcoming GMIS to “Connect, Collaborate and Create" with global investors and become partners of an Atmanirbhar Bharat.”
Along with the Union Minister, the road show was attended by Shri Bhushan Kumar, Joint Secretary , MoPSW; Shri Rathendra Raman, Chairman, SMPK; Shri A.K. Mehera, Dy. Chairman, HDC; Shri Samrat Rahi, Deputy Chairman, SMP Kolkata; Government Officials, Industry Captains, Stakeholders, trade bodies, Chambers of Commerce, etc. At the Road Show, Joint Secretary ; Chairman, SMPK; Dy. Chairmen, SMPK; Commodore P.R. Hari, CMD, GRSE; Shri Ashutosh Jaiswal, Director, Century Ports Limited and Shri Subrat Tripathi, CEO Ports, APSEZ Limited also addressed the gathering.
Ministry of Power
India Increases Its Green Energy Share in Total Power Generation
Ministry of Power Clarifies Reports about Reduction In Power Demand
The Ministry of Power has clarified reports which has recently appeared in a section of media alleging that there has been fall in demand for power in the country. Following is the detailed clarification issued by the Ministry in this regard which brings out that the reports are factually inaccurate and have drawn wrong conclusions:
“The monthly growth in electrical energy availability in the country has been in the range of 6.5% to 8.5% from April, 2019 to July, 2019. The growth during the 1st quarter of the current year was around 7.5%, and in July it was 6.7%. Only in the month of October there was a decline because the rainfall was 35% above normal in October, 2019 resulting in reduction in demand in agriculture sector and the reduction in cooling requirement in the domestic and commercial sectors.
Indian was blessed with the prolonged rainy season and good rainfall the current year 2019-20 . Due to this there has been 16% growth in generation from Hydro and around 22% growth in hydro power imported from Bhutan. There has been 27% growth in generation from nuclear power plants and 24% growth in generation from solar. Thus, the share of green power i.e. generation from non-fossil fuel has been around 27.3% a substantial increase wrt 19.6% during the 2015-16.
Making a judgment on one month's data ignoring the high growth in the other months is nonsensical. Some have spoken about the PLF of thermal power plants being less now than that during the same period previous year. This is because we are changing the energy mix in order to reduce our carbon –footprint. As pointed out above, the generation from renewable is up by 18.6% and from Hydro is up by 25.1% in the first quarter.The generation from Hydro is up by 9.1% in the second quarter. The generation from nuclear power has increased by 11.2 % in 1st quarter and 43.3 % in the 2nd quarter. Naturally, the PLF of the thermal plant will be less.
Now the monsoon and windy season is over, the generation from hydro and wind has started reducing. Thus, from November 2019 till March 2020 the electricity demand will largely be met from thermal power stations. Thus the PLF of thermal power station for the year 2019-20 would improve to around 60% as per the target.”
UPSC
National Defence Academy and Naval Academy Examination , 2019–declaration of written result thereof
On the basis of the result of the written part of the National Defence Academy and Naval Academy Examination,  2019 held by the Union Public Service Commission on 17th November, 2019, candidates with the under mentioned Roll. Nos. have qualified for interview by the Services Selection Board  of the Ministry of Defence for Admission to Army, Navy and Air Force Wings of the National Defence Academy for the 144th Course and for the 106th Indian Naval Academy Course  commencing from 2nd July, 2020. The result is also available at Commission’s website https://upsc.gov.in.
The candidature of all the candidates whose Roll Nos. are shown in the list is provisional. In accordance with the conditions of their admission to the examination, “candidates are requested to register themselves online on the Indian Army Recruiting website joinindianarmy.nic.in within two weeks of announcement of written result. The successful candidates would then be allotted Selection Centres and dates of SSB interview which shall be communicated on registered e-mail ID. Any candidate who has already registered earlier on the site will not be required to do so. In case of any query/Login problem, e-mail be forwarded to dir-recruiting6-mod[at]nic[dot]in.”
“Candidates are also requested to submit original certificates of Age and Educational Qualification to respective Service Selection Boards  during the SSB interview.” The candidates must not send the Original Certificates to the Union Public Service Commission. For any further information, the candidates may contact Facilitation Counter near Gate ‘C’ of the Commission, either in person or on telephone Nos. 011-23385271/011-23381125/011-23098543 between 10:00 hours and 17:00 hours on any working day.
The mark-sheets of the candidates will be put on the Commission’s website within fifteen  days from the date of publication of final result.  and will remain available on the website for a period of thirty  days.
Click here for full list
Prime Minister's Office
It is very satisfying to see the poor getting expensive medicines at affordable prices under Jan Aushadhi: PM
The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has expressed satisfaction that the poor are getting expensive medicines at affordable prices under Jan Aushadhi.
In reply to an emotional tweet thread by Union Minister of State Shri Som Prakash about how Pradhan Mantri Jan Aushadhi Pariyojna is helping the poor in getting medicines at affordable prices.
The Prime Minister tweeted :
"भावुकता से भरे ऐसे कई उदाहरण हैं, जिनसे प्रधानमंत्री भारतीय जनऔषधि परियोजना की सफलता का पता चलता है। यह देखकर बहुत संतोष होता है कि आज देश में गरीब से गरीब लोग भी महंगी से महंगी दवा आसानी से खरीद सकते हैं।"
Ministry of Information & Broadcasting
Films Division to stream films on Constitution of India on 71st Constitution Day
In order to commemorate the 71st Constitution Day tomorrow , Films Division is screening four documentary films on the adoption of Constitution of India by the Union of India on 26th November, 1949, it’s salient features and on Dr BR Ambedkar, Chairman of the Constitution Drafting Committee, on FD website and YouTube Channel.
The films being streamed are Our Constitution  which depicts the various clauses of India’s Constitution, We The People of India  that traces framing of the Constitution, The Preamble , an animation on the Preamble to the Constitution of India, and Babasaheb Ambedkar , a biographical film on Dr BR Ambedkar, the chief architect of the Constitution of India.
The documentaries will be streamed on www.filmsdivision.org/DocumentaryoftheWeek and https://www.youtube.com/user/FilmsDivision on 26th November, 2020 for 24 hours.
Ministry of Jal Shakti
Integrated Landscape Management Plan ForGreater Panna Landscape Released
Plan Prepared In Respect Of Ken-Betwa Link Project By Wildlife Institute Of India
Plan To Holistically Consolidate Landscape For Biodiversity Conservation & Human Well-Being
Greater Panna Landscape Plan Expected To Enhance Tiger Carrying Capacity By Strengthening Connectivity Between 3 Wildlife Sanctuaries
The final report of Integrated Landscape Management Plan for Greater Panna Landscape was released today by Shri Pankaj Kumar, Secretary, Department of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation, Ministry of Jal Shakti in the presence of officers from the Ministry of Environment and Forests, and other concerned organizations. This integrated landscape management plan has been prepared in respect of Ken-Betwa Link Projectby Wildlife Institute of India . The project team led by Dr K. Ramesh, Scientist, WII carried out extensive field work by using advanced scientific tools and techniques, analysed the data and came up with detailed site-specific inputs for the implementation of the proposed activities.
The Integrated Landscape Management Plan provides for better habitat protection, and management of flagship species such as Tigers, Vultures, and Gharial. It will help to holistically consolidate the landscape for biodiversity conservation and human well-being, especially forest dependent communities. It is expected to enhance tiger carrying capacity in the landscape by strengthening connectivity with Nauradehiwildlife sanctuary and Durgavatiwildlife sanctuary in MP and Ranipurwildlife sanctuary in UP.
This integrated landscape management plan has been prepared in respect of Ken-Betwa Link Project which has been approved by the Govt. of India in December, 2021 for implementation, following the signing of a historic agreement on 22nd March 2021 between the Union Minister of Jal Shakti and the Chief Ministers of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh in the presence of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. This project is the first major centrally driven river interlinking project in the country. This agreement heralds the beginning of inter- state cooperation to implement the vision of former Prime Minister and Bharat Ratna, Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee to carry water from areas that have surpluses to drought prone and water deficit areas, through the interlinking of rivers. The Project will be of immense benefit to the water starved Bundelkhand region, spread across the states of MP and UP. This project will provide enormous benefits to the districts of Panna, Tikamgarh, Chhatarpur, Sagar, Damoh, Datia, Vidisha, Shivpuri and Raisen of Madhya Pradesh and Banda, Mahoba, Jhansi & Lalitpur of Uttar Pradesh.
Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs 
Cabinet approves construction of Aligarh-Harduaganj flyover
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has given its approval for taking up construction of Aligarh-Harduaganj flyover by Ministry of Railways. The total length of the railway flyover will be 22 kilometer. The project is expected to be completed by 2024-25 at a cost of over Rs. 1285 crore.
At Aligarh Junction Station a branch line Bareilly-Aligarh terminates. The trains coming from Howrah side and going to Harduaganj/Bareilly cross Howrah-New Delhi main route, which is busiest section of Indian Railways. Due to heavy traffic there is no path available for surface crossing of loaded goods trains coming from Howrah side and going to Harduaganj/Bareilly. This results into heavy detention of trains at Aligarh Junction. This location has become a bottleneck and is affecting the train working badly causing delays and detentions and also reducing the wagon turn round. Flyover at Aligarh going over the existing Delhi-Howrah main line is an operational necessity and is essentially required to remove the bottleneck to traffic movement. By construction of flyover connecting Aligarh to Harduaganj the delays and detentions will be avoided.
Ministry of Defence
Defence Exports
The value of defence exports during the financial year 2021-22 has been Rs 12,815 crore. Authorisations were issued for export of SCOMET Category-6 items to about 61 countries during the year 2021-22. However, names of countries cannot be divulged due to strategic reasons. The year-wise value of defence exports since 2018-19 to 2022-23  is as under:
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2018-19
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2019-20
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2020-21
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2021-22
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2022-23 
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Total Export Value
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10746
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9116
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8435
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12815
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1387provisional
This information was given by Raksha Rajya Mantri Shri Ajay Bhatt in a written reply to Shri Neeraj Shekhar in Rajya Sabha today.
ABB/Savvy
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